When I think of a reputation of a bank, I think of a scene from Almost Famous when William Miller speaks to his mentor on how he thought he was part of the band’s inner circle.

“They make you feel cool. And hey. I met you. You are not cool.”

Like William, banks aren’t hip either. Nor should they be; there’s no point.

Rather, FIs should align and brand themselves through “cool” musicians via digital channels. Why? Innovation advancements are giving birth to new marketing opportunities for companies, and banks should support content, i.e. music, that resonates with their consumers in order to capture more eyeballs.

The notion of hijacking pop culture to build out a brand came up at a recent investor event centered on the future of digital media. Brands “should think like publishers,” said Anthony Batt, president – Katalyst Network at Buzznet/Buzzmedia. “Consumers want to be entertained, shop or play games.”

Startup Free All Media spoke to this notion as well, pointing out how music is the most shared online content, which is precisely why banks’ marketing teams should better align themselves with music.

Though banks have supported music for years and years at concerts, for example, there are more innovative ways of doing that in today’s digital age. And some institutions are playing with the idea.

Recently, Chase Card Services announced a partnership with Pandora to bring summer-themed music to listeners for a few months.

“Partnering with Pandora allows us to introduce a new set of consumers to the Chase Sapphire brand by giving millions of listeners easy access to music that will help them create a memorable summer,” said Sean O’Reilly, general manager of Chase Sapphire. “Music has the power to enhance any moment, mood or situation and Chase Sapphire is proud to bring unique experiences such as limited interruption listening and the ‘Sapphire Summer Sounds’ radio station to Pandora listeners this summer.”

That’s such a smart move by Chase. But there’s plenty more opportunities available for institutions.

During that same investor event I attended, an interesting startup caught my eye. Mowgli Games, one of the companies that spoke, lets users build their own music and share their jams with their friends through an app called Songster. The presenter argued that the rockstar paradigm is changing [think YouTube]; and musicians no longer need to stand on stage. My hunch is that this company would serve as the perfect sort of marketing play banks could sink their teeth into.

In short: Rock on, banks.